The next morning, a thick fog covered the port. Sovereign eyed the approach to the port from the bow of her vessel. She wore her sleeping gown but was ready to fight in case an attack came at any moment. This sort of weather was ripe for a Siren attack to occur in. And radar wasn't really helping them either, the Fog was preventing it from being able to get any clear signals on potential enemy warships. "They could sail in and blast us at close range and we wouldn't be able to react in time" Sovereign said to herself as she had her turrets rotate slightly towards the fog, ready to blast anything that exited the fog. All was silent aside from the gentle ocean sway and the few birds flying around. Until she began to pick up a voice slowly emerging from afar.
"I hope we're nearly there. I can't do this much longer" Came a voice, they sounded incredibly tired and on the verge of exhaustion. That raised several red flags for Sovereign, but she couldn't be certain on if they were friend or foe, so she raised the alarm on her vessel and the alarm quickly began to bring everyone out of their vessels and out to combat readiness.
"Push through!" Came another voice, they sounded like they were straining to raise their voice and moments later, a Maid with rigging deployed and a rope tied around her waist burst through the smoke. The rope continued into the fog only a few meters and then a small rowboat emerged, with a another figure lying inside.
Sovereign jumped from her ship and onto the water, her rigging engaged as she sailed towards the approaching figures. "Hold it right there."
The Maid came to a stop and the little boat continued it's momentum but stopped as the boat hit the Maid in the leg. "Sorry for the abrupt halt, My Lady. But we appear to have arrived"
"You were intentionally coming here. No doubt to bring Sirens here" Sovereign replied.
"No! Not in the slightest." The Maid replied, worry growing in her voice.
The Lady in the boat slowly sat up and opened her eye. "Sovereign?"
Sovereign took a look at the lady and squinted for a moment. "Barham? Is that you?"
"Yes. Phoebe kept me alive all this time following our cube's recovery. I wouldn't be here without her" Barham replied as Sheffield, Norfolk and Indomitable all sailed up to find out what was going on, several of the others soon joining them.
"Were you followed in any way?" Sovereign asked, not wanting to ease off without any confirmation.
"No. I specifically timed a departure during the night and when Patrols were the lightest. I had to carry Lady Barham to this boat and then sailed all this way." Phoebe replied.
"And how did you know about the port being liberated?" Sovereign continued
"Blabbermouth Sirens. Some of them appear to be irritated that they aren't being allowed to come here and fight" Phoebe replied, her posture beginning to wain.
"Phoebe. Are you alright?" Indomitable asked.
"Oh I'm fine, my Lady. Just… Really tired" Phoebe replied as she collapsed and Indomitable caught her.
"Poor Girl. You're safe now" Indomitable replied before she turned to Sovereign. "I'll take her to my vessel. Let her rest and recover"
"Very well. But Lady Barham looks like she needs Resource"
"I'm here. Who's just gone with Indomitable?" Resource asked as she arrived, almost on queue
"It's Phoebe. Dido's little sister." Norfolk replied as the Repair Ship moved over to the Battleship as Valiant arrived.
"You certainly have been through a lot, haven't you, Lady Barham?" Resource asked as she checked over the injured Battleship. "I can sort you out, don't worry."
"That's good, very good" Barham replied before she looked up past Resource and her eyes met with her elder sister's. "Oh."
Valiant wore a neutral look on her face. Neither of them had ever gotten along well. What didn't help was that Barham was taller and bustier than her elder sisters for some reason. She didn't make a big deal of it however, as she was usually the quiet one of the 5 sisters, leaving Elizabeth and Valiant to bicker whilst Warspite got caught in the middle. "Good to see you, little sister" the short Battleship finally spoke, greeting her sibling.
"And to you" Barham replied as Resource and Norfolk helped her up and out of the little rowboat and towards Norfolk's ship for initial treatment. When they arrived at the med-bay aboard Norfolk's ship, Resource finally got a good look at Barham's injuries. "How bad is it?" Barham asked the repair ship
"Phoebe's done a good job with what she's been able to grab. These burns are bad, but I can treat them" Resource replied before she checked the covered right eye. "Your eye might need more time though. It's in a bad way for sure."
"I expected as much." Barham replied as Resource removed the bandages completely and began to replace them with clean ones. "But. Thank you"
"It's fine." Resource replied as Anson appeared, haphazardly dressed as well as she could be.
"Oh. Lady Barham, you're alive" Anson said as she greeted the Battleship
"And same to you, Anson" Barham replied. "How is Phoebe?"
"Phoebe?" Anson asked, slightly confused.
"She's fine, Indomitable is taking care of her" Resource said before turning to Anson. "They arrived together. Sovereign met them first and made sure they hadn't brought any Sirens with them. Not like they couldn't just appear in the bay anyway"
"I gather that is what happened to you?" Barham asked.
"Yes. It happened just as we were taking this port. No other attacks have come since" Anson replied.
"Strange. I would have thought the Sirens would want to rid this site of resistance off the face of the earth" Barham said, pondering the lack of attacks here.
"We all share that thought, My Lady. Not even small attacking groups have appeared here. It's been silent"
"I see. Best to not get complacent in not having an attack come"
"Of course not, My Lady" Anson replied before she returned to Sovereign's vessel where Hector was waiting for her.
"What's up?" He asked. "I saw a commotion going on"
"We've had two new arrivals. Barham and Phoebe. A battleship and a light cruiser" Anson replied as she climbed back onboard the small battleship and they headed back to the quarters that Sovereign had shown them to the night before. They were properly changed a little while later with Hector back in his RAF uniform. She took him back onto the dock and convened with the other vessels who had gathered for the morning's brief. Resource joined the briefing a few minutes later.
"Patrols are as before, but if you are awaiting your ship's launch. We begin in half an hour with Agincourt" Sovereign said before she listed off the final launches. "Formidable will follow after Agincourt, then Indomitable with Anson and finally Resource. I'm sure we can fit in Phoebe afterwards and then once Barham has recovered, she'll receive her ship"
"Where is Phoebe anyway?" Suffolk asked, curious to know where the new arrival was
"I'm here!" The maid called as she sailed over and joined them. "Terribly sorry for my latency. I woke up a few minutes ago and didn't realise it wasn't my ship"
"That's alright. I'd like you to patrol with Sheffield and Norfolk this morning. I'll have something ready for you in the afternoon" Sovereign said as she addressed the Dido Class cruiser
"Of course, My lady" Phoebe replied as she bowed slightly and joined Sheffield and Norfolk. Sovereign held them for a little longer before she dismissed them for the morning.
"Any word from Seraph?" Anson asked, recalling the fact the Sub had headed out to perform a patrol in the channel in order to keep an eye out for Siren fleets patrolling the area.
"Nothing as of yet. She'll tell us when she needs to."
Far out to sea, Seraph's vessel silently crept along, her periscope just about poking above the surface as she scanned for Siren fleets. She'd spotted a convoy an hour ago but had been unable to pursue and instead remained where she was and planned to await another fleet. It wasn't long before another came her way. It was a small fleet, with five Cruiser class drones escorting a single aircraft carrier type. She waited a little longer, allowing it to get into range of her torpedoes and once she was happy, she fired a single shot against the Cruiser furthest from her. The torpedo silently snaked through the water as it headed straight into the path of the Siren warship, striking it mid-ship and sending it up in flames. Knowing they'd now move to perform Anti-Submarine manuvers, she reduced her vessel into her rigging and quickly moved to pass underneath the warships and strike from the other side.
Above her, the Siren Warships fired at the area they believed Seraph was in, several depth charge like objects being flung into the sea before exploding, but no result came of it. Suddenly, another Cruiser exploded and another soon after that one. The remaining Cruisers aimed their turrets in all directions trying to figure out where the attack was coming from. But Seraph sent them all below the waves, leaving the carrier utterly alone. She sailed alongside it, planted a limpet mine or two on it's keel and then floated away to a safe distance before firing a torpedo where she'd planted the mines. When the Torpedo hit, the carrier was thrown to one side, nearly capsizing just from the blast. But the damage as done and it instead rolled back over and capsized the other way. Seraph watched as the wrecks sank below the waves, pleased with her efforts. Sailing away from the sinking wrecks, she brought her vessel back out and boarded and pumped the water out. Returning to the bridge she began to search for more vessels…
Agincourt stood in front of the ramp where her vessel was due to be built. Resource stood beside her with an abnormal amount of Wisdom ore beside her. She had taken her time waiting for her ship to be rebuilt to decide that she needed to re-design it. She was a very outdated vessel these days. And her fight against Anson under Siren control had shown her that. Merely fighting to retake the port had taken a toll on her, so she had talked with Resource in length about upgrading her vessel to be more modern, more powerful and more suited to her liking. Resource had been more than willing to help her achieve this goal. "Now since you are doing this, your rigging will in turn change to better suit your vessel's new appearance. I want to be told everything as it happens so we can stop if something goes wrong."
"Thank you, Resource." Agincourt replied before she stood firm and ready "Let's get this started"
The vessel began to emerge slowly, the keel taking shape relatively quickly as Agincourt stood silent and still, letting her imagination fuel the construction of the ship
Resource observed the construction and any movements made by Agincourt as the main body began to form. Much like the ships before it, an Atlantic camouflage scheme was already painted onto the forming hull as it grew taller and taller. Soon enough the main hull was finished. She took in the lack of secondary guns that would otherwise have been present as she recalled seeing such weapons on her rigging. "Looks different to what your rigging had me assume"
"Let me concentrate" came Agincourt's reply as she began to form the first phase of the superstructure. Several secondary guns appeared first before elements of superstructure began to form as well as the turrets. It was very easy to see that Agincourt had changed her ship in major ways. She no longer had Seven turrets, but five. Two in the bow, two in the stern and a third in the middle. Their calibre had also been increased. Gone were the 12 inch guns, and in their place were 15 inch guns.
"She's certainly taken inspiration from Valiant and the Revenge sisters" Resource thought.
Fourty Five more minutes passed and Agincourt had finally completed her newly improved vessel. It was very different to what it had once been, but it looked far more powerful now and Agincourt beamed as she watched it run down the ramp and into the water.
Formidable and Hector stood nearby, watching the battleship thank Resource before heading out to board her new ship. "It's going to be fine. I'm going to be right here" Hector said in an effort to continue to reassure her.
"Thanks" the carrier said as she walked towards Resource and after waiting for the waters to be cleared, Formidable's vessel began to form and as it did so, she was shaking ever so slightly. Indomitable, who was nearby, saw her sibling and walked over, taking her hand in her own. Unicorn was quick to join her side and take Formidable's other hand. Formidable looked to her two little sisters and a tear came to her eye. The trio stood in silence as the carrier formed. Once it was completed, it remained there for a moment. Indomitable looked up at the vessel before looking to her sister.
"How about we launch her together?"
"I'd love that" Formidable replied as Indomitable handed her an empty bottle and the carrier tossed it at the side of the ship. The bottle smashed with a satisfying crash before the vessel began to roll down the slipway and elegantly slid into the water. Another cheer went up behind them as Formidable cried with joy. The launch had gone off without a hitch.
Hector stood a few meters away, a broad smile on his face. "Told ya"
Formidable turned around and hugged him "Thank you for having faith in me"
"It's no issue. Always got to keep optimistic in these times" Hector replied as he hugged her back.
Several hours passed and the final few listed ships were launched. Phoebe and Barham would be launched at a later date as the harbour was now quite full with vessels.
"Looks like we'll need to build some more areas to house our ships" Anson commented as she looked out at the ships.
"I can get that sorted. All the Bulins can operate from my vessel with all the supplies they could possibly need" Resource replied.
"Yeah. I saw Barham was moved to your vessel. How is she doing?"
"She's doing well. No major injuries aside from the cuts and burns. Her eye is one major thing I'm worried about. Neither Phoebe or Our lady have said how she got it"
"It wouldn't have been due to what happened to her during the last war? Would it?" Anson asked.
"No. Those sort of injuries were treated afterwards. I recall her being brought back to base. These are newer. She's gotten into an altercation with someone that is far more powerful that we've had to deal with"
"I don't like the sound of that" Anson remarked.
"Neither do I. We'll have to combat them somehow. But that may take time, and that isn't always going to be in our favour" Resource replied, stroking her chink as she thought.
"I'm sure you'll come up with a solution to this dilemma" Anson said before she departed for the main HQ that had been setup. "Let's see if Seraph has reported back yet."
When she arrived at the HQ. She found that a reply from Seraph was waiting for her. It had only just been printed as Valiant was standing there reading it. She had turned to the Battleship upon hearing her enter. "You'll be wanting to read this" she said as she held the paper out for Anson to read what was on it.
"Siren Task Force spotted in Channel. Well defended. Two Aircraft Carrier class Sirens. Three Battleship class Sirens and several Cruiser class drones." Anson read out before she saw something that shocked her.
"Non Siren Vessel contained within force. King George V Class Battleship." Anson read before she ran out of the room and headed for the port.
"I need a taskforce to follow me into the channel. Seraph has spotted one of our own being held captive" Anson said of the radio as she quickly paced across the port towards the water.
"What's going on?" Indomitable asked as Anson headed past her.
"Seraph has spotted a Siren fleet holding one of my sisters captive. I'm going out to rescue them. I need some support to come with me."
"I think Formidable is on her ship right now. She could go with you" Indomitable suggested.
"Right" Anson said before she got back on her radio. "Formidable, Norfolk, Sheffield, Bulldog, Swift, Perseus, Revenge and Agincourt. I want you to follow me out"
"Copy" came the various replies on their own replies before a few of them headed from their patrols towards their ships.
"The rest can fill in gaps for patrols whilst we're gone." Anson replied before Resource stormed over.
"Anson! I won't let you go out in that condition!" she called out.
"We have a chance to bolster our fleet some more. Remember what we were talking about a few minutes ago"
"Yes I recall it and I shall rebuke by reminding you of the unknown threats that are still out there. What if you sail right into a trap"
"Then we'll handle it. We should still be in air cover range so Wasp, Indomitable and Unicorn can provide aerial support" Anson replied before she headed for her ship, not allowing Resource to continue.
"That woman is going to get herself hurt again. Or worse"
"She knows her own limits, Resource. I'm positive that she'll get herself back home" Hector replied as he watched the ships begin to depart from the harbour.